Strategic Financial Concepts LLC Buys Shares of 6,651 Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG)

Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,651 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,013,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Alphabet by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 120,234,117 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $15,852,868,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348,188 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Alphabet by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 95,941,129 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $12,649,838,000 after buying an additional 9,703,425 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Alphabet by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 80,246,520 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $11,309,370,000 after buying an additional 862,550 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Alphabet by 2.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 57,269,184 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,550,942,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Alphabet during the fourth quarter worth $4,101,040,000. 27.26% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alphabet Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ GOOG traded down $3.26 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $164.64. 29,398,761 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,876,967. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 2.10. The company has a market cap of $2.05 trillion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.05. Alphabet Inc. has a twelve month low of $104.50 and a twelve month high of $176.42.

Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The information services provider reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $80.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.75 billion. Alphabet had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 29.52%. The company’s revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Research analysts predict that Alphabet Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alphabet Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a — dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 10th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 10th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total value of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,009,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Alphabet news, insider John Kent Walker sold 48,076 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $142.20, for a total transaction of $6,836,407.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,809,495. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Amie Thuener O’toole sold 660 shares of Alphabet stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $143.59, for a total transaction of $94,769.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,920 shares in the company, valued at $4,009,032.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 253,289 shares of company stock valued at $36,724,534. 12.99% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James boosted their target price on Alphabet from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 24th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Alphabet from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Alphabet from $150.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Alphabet in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of Alphabet from $154.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Alphabet presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $165.67.

Alphabet Company Profile

Alphabet Inc offers various products and platforms in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia-Pacific, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Google Services, Google Cloud, and Other Bets segments. The Google Services segment provides products and services, including ads, Android, Chrome, devices, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Maps, Google Photos, Google Play, Search, and YouTube.